Scientists Make Human-Animal Hybrids That are Part Animal and Part Human Being

CRISPR permits any cell or life form to be genetically altered, opening the door to the intelligent (or stupid) redesign of the human species, the ending of terrible diseases, or the unleashing by terrorists of an altered viral pandemic.

Scientists have created synthetic life not based in evolution or Creation.

Human cloning is being done. A recent monkey success reveals the potential of the birth of the first cloned baby.

The embryos, which were not allowed to develop past 28 days of age, move researchers a small step closer to perhaps growing human organs for medical transplant.

That would be terrific. Of course, animal-rights activists will howl at using animals as sources of human organs, but then, that is because they are essentially anti-human

But there is a very real concern here that scientists could manufacture an animal that has a partial human nature, say the capacity for rationality. That would be an ethical nightmare on several fronts.

The point I keep trying to make isn’t that we should shut down all of this research, but that we need to have an intense discussion about how to best ensure it doesn’t wander into unethical fields.

But Trump doesn’t even Tweet on the issue, and beyond some voluntary guidelines and public funding restrictions, there is little to prevent a real life Dr. Moreau from holding forth — particularly in China.

We really do need to have an intense democratic discussion about biotechnology, AI, and other such fast-advancing research. Time is growing short.

LifeNews.com Note: Wesley J. Smith, J.D., is a special consultant to the Center for Bioethics and Culture and a bioethics attorney who blogs at Human Exeptionalism.Image is a likeness of a human pig hybrid, not the actual created embryo.